Harry Potter and the Magical Mop
by Owlmemaybe
Summary: On his fifth birthday, Harry finds himself an unusual and secret friend that will accompany him in all his adventures. How will this affect his Hogwarts life ? Independent!Harry, HPGW (later), other couples undecided (though likely canon, no slash).
1. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter and the Magical Mop**

** NdA : _This was first a one-shot written in french for a trial. I have decided to develop the idea in a long story that should cover from the first year to (at least) the end of the war. I have the keypoints somewhat decided up to third-fourth years, but do not hesitate to make suggestions. Though please do not be offended if I decide not to take them into account. Also, English is not my native language, so I apologize in advance for any mistake I might make._  
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** Disclaimer : **The characters belong to J K Rowling.

**Prologue**

On his fifth birthday, Harry Potter was alone at number Four, Privet Drive. Though he knew the meaning of the word ''birthday'', he had never actually celebrated his. This year was no exception. In fact, it was worse than usual.

His uncle, aunt and cousin had gone to visit Aunt Marge, Vernon's horrible sister for the afternoon. Usually, in cases such as this, Harry would go to Mrs Figg until their return. Today however, the old lady was out of town – apparently one of her many cats was sick – and she could not watch him. Furious and not at all desirous to bring ''the freak'' to his sister – in his brand new car, too! - Uncle Vernon had therefore decided to give him an extensive list of chores to complete before their return, along with an even greater list of the punishments to expect if anything was left undone or any damage made to the house.

Unfrtunately for Harry, the list was far too long for a five-year-old child to complete in so short a time. Halfway through the afternoon, he still had the whole house to scrub and knew he would never manage it in time.

Desperate, and because it was his birthday, Harry decided it could not hurt to make a wish. As he once again squeezed excess water from the mop, he begged :

'' Please, I work hard and I do not want to be punished again! Please, help me finish in time!''

As sooon as he finished his plea, the mop escaped his grasp, fell on the floor whgere it starting scrubbing with resolute quickness and efficiency. Harry stared at it in shock for some time before smiling and wooping with joy. He then ran to finish the other tasks while the mop cleaned the floor.

A couple hours later, the house was cleaned and all the other chres fully completed. Harry thanked the mop for its help.

''I truly wish I had a friend like you!'' he concluded.

And the mop wrapped itself around his leg, hidden by his far too large trousers.

O0oOo0o

Some months later, as Harry was running from Dudley and his friend – who were apparently in dire need of a human punching ball – he speeded towards the stairs. As he started climbing, he whispered :

''Now, Mop!''

The Mop immediately unwrapped itself from his leg and grabbed the ankle of his nearest pursuer. The boy fell down the few steps he had taken and onto his friends. Before anyne had the time to wonder why he had stumbled, Mop was hidden back against Harry's leg.

Days, weeks, and then months and years passed. Mop helped Harry when it could but always remained hidden. Every year, on his birthday, Harry thanked whoever had given him this first, fierce and loyal friend.

It would not be until his eleventh birthday that he would learn that the magic animating Mop was in fact his own.


	2. Revelations

**A/N : Finally, the first real chapter ! Updates for this story will be slow (I'm a student with exams regularly). I already have the main events and concepts defined, but I'm open to any suggestions. Just don't be angry if I decide not to use them. So please, R&R!**

**Disclaimer : J K Rowling owns this universe.**

**Chapter 1 : Revelations**

To celebrate Dudley's birthday, the Dursleys decided to go to the zoo. For the second time in Harry's life, Mrs Figg was unable to watch him. This time however, his uncle determined that leaving a freak alone in the house would be too dangerous, chores or not. Though no one but Harry was pleased about it, he would go to the zoo with them.

While they were in the reptilarian, something unusual happened: after his cousin got bored with the unmoving snake, Harry apologized to it. He was quite surprised to hear it answer. Not that it was the first time something strange happened in his life, but most times it was simply Mop helping him.

Before he had any time to think about it however, he was pushed by his cousin and his friend. Mop slipped underneath him to soften his reception. Anger coursed through Harry at being once again mistreated, in plain view of witness, with no one but Mop helping. He truly wished his cousin would receive some punishment for once.

He had just finished that thought when the glass between the snake and Dudley and Piers vanished.

Immediately, the snake slythered out of his prison, thanked Harry for setting him free and escaped the building.

While his uncle dragged him from the zoo to the car to his cupboard, Harry wondered why the snake had thought that _he_ had made the glass vanished.

For the first time in six years, Harry wondered where exactly Mop came from. And whether all these other strange happenings around him meant something.

o0oOo0o

A couple of weeks later, Harry's reflections were interrupted by the arrival of a letter adressed to him. He first hoped it might contain some answers to the questions multiplying in his head after the 'snake episode'. Unfortunately, his uncle intervined before he had the time to open it, much less read it.

But whoever wrote him proved to be quite a persistent person. Over the next few days, letters similar to the first one kept coming, increasing in number every day. Harry tried to steal one with Mop's help but almost got caught. Afraid of losing Mop should anyone in his family see this 'unnaturalness', he gave up that approach.

After about a week of this, his uncle gave in to madness, and before long the inhabitants of Number Four, Privet Drive found themselves ensconced in a small cabin perched on an island.

Their sleep – along with Harry's improvised birthday celebration – was interrupted by an unexpected guest, who knocked down the door, apologized, put the door back and asked for Harry. Some shouting, introductions – the kind big man was called Hagrid -, some more threatening and a pig tail later, Harry finally got to read his letter. Some more shouting and indignation was involved as Hagrid explained to him that he was a wizard – as his parents had been – and invited to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. More importantly though, he learned that his parents had been murdered by a dark wizard called Voldemort. Apparently, there had been a war which ended when the bad wizard's spell rebounded on Harry, killing the murderer. And now, he was famous. From what Hagrid told him, anyway.

Thanks to Hagrid's imposing figure and his little demonstration on Dudley, the Dursleys consent was secured, and Hagrid annonced to Harry that he would now accompany him to London where he would be able to buy his school supplies.

o0oOo0o

On their way to London, Harry asked many questions about the wizarding world. From his answers, he quickly gathered that Hagrid was a truly and deeply lind man and that he basically revered Headmaster Dumbledore. Though Harry decided he could easily get used to a kind companion – something he never got at Privet Drive – his own difficult childhood made him wary of trusting anyone, especially a person who seemed unable or unwilling to formulate his own opinions.

As Hagrid guided him towards a dubious-looking pub, Harry decided that Hagrid would be a great friend but probably never a close one. And though he now understood that Mop was most likely a consequence of his own magical power, he'd rather keep it a secret. He didn't know that new world well enough to be sure it would not mock or harm it.

o0oOo0o

Bewildered by what had happened inside the pub – which was apparently called 'The Leaky Cauldron' – he let Hagrid half-drag him in a backyard and then silently watched as he tapped a few stones. The wall before them opened, revealing a colorful and obviously busy alley.

''Welcome, Harry, to Diagon Alley'' he heard Hagrid say as his shock turned to awe and excitment.

Harry had rarely been allowed out of the house, except for a school and a few necessary outings – such as the optician once his teachers realized he could not read the blackboard. None of them had been especially fun - the zoo might have been, if he had not been punished afterwards. Therefore, he was quite impatient to discover this new world and seeing the shops of the Alley.

His guide explained that they first had to go to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, where he had to retreive ''something'' for the Headmaster and where Harry would be able to withdraw money for his schoolthings. From what Hagrid implied, Harry suggested that he either had some kind of scholarship – because of whatever gave him this strange fame, perhaps - or his parents had left him enough money for him to at least complete his education. Either way, not having to ask for any money from the Dursleys was certainly a relief. He didn't want to owe them anything if he could help it.

As they progressed toward the great white marble building, Harry kept looking left and right, trying to see and identify all the shops and guessing what each might be selling. Noticing his efforts, Hagrid pointed him the main ones: 'Flourish and Blotts' which was the bookshop, the apothecary for buying potions' ingredients, 'Madam Malkins' where they would go buy his schoolrobes later, the wandmaker's... A couple of less important shops were 'Eyelops Menagerie' and its variety of animals, 'Quidditch Supplies' – a sport equipment shop from Harry managed to see above the heads of agglutined children – and 'Zonko', the joke shop.

They reached the bank, where Harry paused long enough to read the engraved warning. He concluded that the goblins were probably not the most trusting people either. That suited him. He had yet to meet someone he could fully trust – his teachers had never helped, the Dursleys were out of the question, Hagrid seemed kind but too simple – and felt that he might be more at ease with wary creatures than overly trusting ones. At least they would be on the same page.

Once inside, Hagrid went to one of the desks, explained that Harry wished to make a withdrawal – at which point he fished small golden key out of his coat – and that himself would need to get ''you-know-what'' from the vault ''you-know-which'', giving a letter to the goblin. As he stood witness to the brief conversation, Harry felt comforted by that proof of the fact that, no matter how kind he was, Hagrid was simply not a man to trust with an important secret. Subtlety and stealth were not his first qualities.

They were led to a kart, and Hagrid warned Harry that these rides often made him sick. Judging by the unbecoming shade of green that his face acquired less than a minute after their departure, Harry guessed that this particular ride was no exception.

o0oOo0o

They first went to Harry's vault. Once it was opened, Harry's mind went blank, unable to understand how that many gold could _exist_, much less be _his_.

''Surely you didn't think your parents left you penniless'' Hagrid said, still quite green but somewhat amused by Harry's shock.

''I had no idea... I just assumed that there would only be enough for my schooling. Or are things expensive in the wizarding world?'' he asked, slowly turning his eyes and focus toward the big man.

''They can be'' admitted Hagrid. ''But your parents were quite rich. You shall need for nothing until you are finished with your schooling at Hogwarts. In fact, you will still have quite a lot even then.''

''What did my parents do ? As a job I mean. To have so much money.'' he asked eagerly, curious about his parents as well as the magic jobs.

''Your father was an Auror. I don't really know about your mother's job, though. I know she had been given several offers – she was incredibly smart – but with the war and all, I'm not sure what she chose. Or if she had the time to work at all.'' Hagrid answered succintly.

Harry first wanted to ask for more details and explanations of what an Auror was, about this war which had cost him his parents and his childhood. Howerver, noticing that the man was still green, he decided to postpone that conversation. He turned his attention back to the matter at end.

''I will take enough for my supplies, a few extra books and also some spending money. How much would I need for all that ?''

o0oOo0o

The stop at the vault ''you-know-which'' – also known as vault 713 – was brief but no less interesting. The security of this vault was obviously high, but its content was no more than a single wrapped parcel of no recognizable shape. Despite his initial surprise at this, Harry reminded himself that he had been relying for years on what most people would consider a disgusting piece of cloth. Appearences could be deceiving.

Hagrid quickly hid the parcel in one of his many pockets, and insisted that he should tell absolutely no-one. Harry promised, though he wondered if Hagrid was supposed to retreive it in front of him at all. It seemed imprudent for the Headmaster to trust an unknown eleven-year-old with something powerful enough to necessitate so much security in such a heavily guarded bank.

o0oOo0o

Once they got out of the bank, Hagrid left him at Madam Malkins, needing a little ''pick-me-up'' after their kart expedition. While he was being fitted, he talked with another future Hogwarts student, a blond boy called Malfoy. Though Harry was eager to meet wizards his age, he could not like this particular boy. He reminded him too much of Dudley and his bullying gang. And he insulted Hagrid.

After Harry escaped from the robes maker, Hagrid guided him through all the items on his lists. Harry insisted to buy some more books, stating he had enough money to pay for them and needed to learn more about the wizarding world. Hagrid finally consented, but not before warning him against using magic on his relatives. Though Harry wished thigs were different, it seemed a sound advice and rule. He therefore bought some books about the wizarding society – which Hagrid explained were mostly written for the Muggleborns – a book about the school called _Hogwarts, a History,_anda small book on the properties and interactions of potions' ingredients, recommended by the apothecary when Harry had confessed his worry of not remembering all the names of the plants and mushrooms. Thinking back on his conversation with the blond Malfoy boy, he added a couple books on this Quidditch sport.

Hagrid then insisted on buying him a birthday gift. Despite his prostests that the cake had been more than enough gift, Hagrid pushed him towards the menagerie, deciding that he should have a owl. A useful gift, as you could use them for post. Harry soon found himself holding the cage of a snowy white owl, stammering his thanks.

They finished their shopping with the wandmaker's. Harry left the shop finally equipped with the most useful tool a wizard could have, but more disoriented and worried than ever after the comments of Ollivander about his wand.

o0oOo0o

Back at the Dursleys, comfortably installed on the bed of his new room, Harry spent the rest of the summer reading his extra books, and then his school books. He appreciated the change in his relatives attitude, which left him with more than enough time by himself to study his future world.

The book recommended by the apothecary was indeed simple and clear and helped him a lot in understanding the potions recipes, making more confident that he would be able to do well enough in that class. In fact, Harry was quite afraid of not doing well in his classes. He hoped that this world would accept him, and perhaps later Mop. But that would never happen if he failed everyone's expectations, right ?

He also named his owl Hedwig, a name he found in his History of Magic book and which apparently pleased the owl. He had already grown very fond of his owl, presenting Mop to her as soon as they were safely in his room – after all, even magical owls could not talk so there was no risk of her telling anyone. After studying his long-time protector for a full minute, she hooted approvingly. That sealed Harry's confidence in his animal.

To Hedwig, the knowledge that Mop could accompany and help her human anywhere was enough to deserve respect and full support. A familiar never left his human unprotected if he could help it.


End file.
